System and image forming system

ABSTRACT

A system including: a control device; a storage device that stores a file; a display device; and a voice device, wherein the control device displays a list of first identification display for specifying the file on the display device when voice of a command for displaying a list is input from a user via the voice device, the control device assigns an identification code to the file displayed in the list, and displays the identification code as second identification display, and the control device selects the file corresponding to the identification code when voice including the identification code is input from the user via the voice device.

This Nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)on Patent Application No. 2020-13994 filed in Japan on 30 Jan. 2020, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and the like.

Description of the Background Art

Conventionally, a technology for operating a device by voice has beenknown. For example, there is proposed an image forming apparatus inwhich voice is registered in association with an image formation mode,input voice is compared with the already registered voice in a callmode, and a call in the image formation mode associated with the inputvoice is controlled on the basis of the comparison result. (see, forexample, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-181292). Inaddition, there is proposed a human-machine interface device thatdisplays, by characters, a key word to be uttered for voice recognitionor a serial number for identification on or near an object that can beselected on a GUI (graphical user interface) screen. (See, for example,Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-267837).

However, each of the technologies disclosed in Japanese PatentUnexamined Applications Nos. 2000-181292 and 2000-267837 aretechnologies for associating, with voice, a mode or a function that thedevice has in advance, and a case where a file that the device does nothave in advance is selected is not considered. In addition, in a casewhere a user selects a file, how a user should utter a file name orfilename extension, or how the device should output the file by voice isdifferent depending on the user and the file. For example, in a casewhere a user utters a file name, there is a case where a base name ofthe file name (for example, a “Flower” part in the file name“Flower.jpg”) is uttered as an English word, or uttered character bycharacter. Also, there is a case where the filename extension (forexample, a “jpg” part in the file name “Flower.jpg”) is utteredcharacter by character, or is called uniquely (for example, “txt” is“text”, and “jpg” is “jay-peg”). Furthermore, it is conceivable that theuser may say “dot” or “period” for “.” which is a symbol that separatesthe base name and the filename extension. Thus, there are various waysin which the user can utter the file name. Similarly, various methodscan be considered in a case where the device outputs the file name byvoice. Thus, there are various possible voices that are exchangedbetween the user and the device in order to specify an arbitrary file byvoice, and in particular, regarding the selection of the file, aninterface that specializes for voice operation is not often considered.

In view of the aforementioned problems, an object of the presentapplication is to provide a system and the like having an interfacesuitable for voice operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect for solving the aforementioned problems is a systemincluding: a control device (for example, a control device 10 in FIG. 1or a controller 600 in FIG. 4); a storage device (for example, a storagedevice 20 in FIG. 1 or a storage 650 in FIG. 4) that stores a file; adisplay (for example, a display 30 in FIG. 1 or a display 610 in FIG.4), a voice device (for example, a voice input/output device 40 in FIG.1 or a voice inputter/outputter 630 in FIG. 4), wherein the controldevice displays a list of first identification display for specifyingthe file on the display device when voice of a command for displaying alist is input from a user via the voice device, the control deviceassigns an identification code to the file displayed in the list, anddisplays the identification code as second identification display, andthe control device selects the file corresponding to the identificationcode when voice including the identification code is input from the uservia the voice device.

A second aspect is the system of the first aspect, in which when thecontrol device displays the list of the first identification display onthe display device, the control device receives input of the voiceincluding the identification code from the user only in a case where theuser is able to select the file from the first identification displaydisplayed in the list.

A third aspect is the system of the first aspect, in which the controldevice is able to execute a predetermined process, the control device isable to display a list of the first identification display and thesecond identification display on the display device, when thepredetermined process is executed, and the control device selects thefile corresponding to the identification code, when the voice includingthe identification code is input from the user via the voice devicewhile the predetermined process is being executed.

A fourth aspect is the system of the third aspect, in which thepredetermined process is a conference process in which a plurality ofusers are able to participate.

A fifth aspect is the system of the first aspect, in which in a casewhere voice is input from the user via the voice device and a list isdisplayed, the control device receives input of the identification codefrom the voice device, and in a case where input is made from the uservia a device other than the voice device and a list is displayed, thecontrol device receives input from the device other than the voicedevice.

A sixth aspect is the system of the first aspect, in which the firstidentification display is an icon indicating a file name and anattribute of the file.

A seventh aspect is the system of the first aspect, in which the controldevice groups the files to be displayed in the list, and assigns oneidentification code to a plurality of the files included in the samegroup.

An eighth aspect is an image forming system including: a control device(for example, an image forming apparatus 70 in FIG. 8 or a controller700 in FIG. 9); a storage device (for example, an image formingapparatus 70 in FIG. 8 or a storage 770 in FIG. 9) that stores a file;and a display device (for example, an image forming apparatus 70 in FIG.8 or a display 750 in FIG. 9); and a voice device (for example, a voiceinput/output device 90 in FIG. 8 or a voice inputter/outputter 760 inFIG. 9), wherein the control device displays a list of a thumbnail imageof the file on the display device, the control device superimposes animage including an identification code on the thumbnail image displayedin the list, and displays the superimposed images, and in a case wherethe identification code is input by voice from a user via the voicedevice, the control device forms an image on the basis of the filecorresponding to the identification code.

A ninth aspect is the image forming system of the eighth aspect, inwhich the image including the identification code is an image whose sizeis one-third or more of at least a short side of the thumbnail image.

A tenth aspect is the image forming system of the eighth aspect, inwhich the image including the identification code is an image in whichthe identification code is included in a rectangular non-transparentimage.

An eleventh aspect is the image forming system of the eighth aspect, inwhich the image including the identification code is an imagesuperimposed and displayed on any corner of the thumbnail image.

A twelfth aspect is the image forming system of the eighth aspect, inwhich the control device sequentially selects one thumbnail image fromthe thumbnail images displayed in the list, and outputs theidentification code corresponding to the selected thumbnail image byvoice from the voice device.

A thirteenth aspect is the image forming system of the twelfth aspect,in which when the identification code corresponding to the selectedthumbnail image is output by voice from the voice device, the controldevice highlights the thumbnail image together with the identificationcode.

A fourteenth aspect is the image forming system of the thirteenthaspect, in which the control device performs display, as thehighlighting of the thumbnail image, by at least any one of methods of:enlarging and displaying the thumbnail image; displaying a frame aroundthe thumbnail image; reversing and displaying color of the thumbnailimage; and blinking and displaying the thumbnail image.

A fifteenth aspect is the image forming system of the twelfth aspect, inwhich when the identification code corresponding to the selectedthumbnail image is output by voice from the voice device, the controldevice enlarges and displays the image including the identification codetogether with the identification code.

According to the present invention, an interface suitable for voiceoperation can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram for illustrating an overall system in a firstembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for illustrating a functional configuration of aprocessing device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for illustrating a file selection process in thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for illustrating a functional configuration of adisplay device in a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating a process of the display device inthe second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustrating an operation example in the secondembodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B is a diagram for illustrating an operation example inthe second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for illustrating an overall print system in a fourthembodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for illustrating a functional configuration of animage forming apparatus in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for illustrating a process of the image formingapparatus in the fourth embodiment.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams for illustrating an operation example inthe fourth embodiment.

FIGS. 12A to 12F are diagrams for illustrating an operation example inthe fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for illustrating a process of an image formingapparatus in a fifth embodiment.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are diagrams for illustrating an operation example inthe fifth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the drawings. Each embodiment is described for convenienceof describing the present invention, and the technical scope of thepresent invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

1. First Embodiment

1. 1 Overall Configuration

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a system 1. The system 1includes, for example, a control device 10, a storage device 20, adisplay device 30, and a voice input/output device 40.

Herein, the devices constituting the system 1 may be respectiveindependent devices, may be configured in one device, or may be acombination of a plurality of devices.

Further, the voice input/output device 40 may use an external service.For example, the voice input/output device 40 recognizes a word fromvoice uttered by a user, and transmits the word as an input sentence toconversation service. In the conversation service, a correspondingresponse sentence (conversation sentence) is transmitted to the voiceinput/output device 40 on the basis of the received input sentence. Thevoice input/output device 40 outputs voice on the basis of the responsesentence.

Herein, the conversation service is service of receiving input of asentence or voice from a user, recognizing a request of the user fromthe input content, and outputting an execution result of a process forthe request, a response sentence including information to be presentedto the user, or response voice, as a response to the request. Inaddition, the conversation service establishes dialogue by continuouslyrepeating such input from the user and response to the input.

The conversation service may be realized by the system 1 without usingany external service. For example, by executing a program that realizesa conversation process in the control device 10, the conversationservice can be provided to the user only by the system 1.

1. 2 Functional Configuration

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in a case where thesystem 1 is applied to a processing device 50. The processing device 50includes a controller 500 corresponding to the control device 10, astorage 550 corresponding to the storage device 20, a display 510corresponding to the display device 30, and a voice inputter/outputter530 corresponding to the voice input/output device 40. The processingdevice 50 will be described below.

The controller 500 is a functional section for controlling the whole ofthe processing device 50. The controller 500 realizes various functionsby reading and executing various programs stored in the storage 550, andis, for example, composed of one or a plurality of arithmetic devices(such as a central processing unit (CPU)).

The controller 500 functions as a voice recognizer 502 by executing theprogram. In a case where voice is input via the voice inputter/outputter530, the voice recognizer 502 recognizes the input voice. The voicerecognizer 502 may temporarily output information indicating the contentof the recognized voice (for example, character information) to thestorage 550.

The display 510 displays the content of a file, various states of theprocessing device 50, or the state of operation input. For example, thedisplay 510 is composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organicelectroluminescent (EL) panel, electronic paper using electrophoresis,or the like.

The inputter 520 receives operation input from the user. For example,the inputter 520 is composed of a capacitance type touch panel or apressure sensitive type touch panel. The inputter 520 may be acombination of a touch panel and an operation pen, or may be an inputdevice such as a keyboard and a mouse, as long as the user can inputinformation.

The voice inputter/outputter 530 inputs and outputs voice. For example,the voice inputter/outputter 530 is composed of a voice input devicesuch as a microphone that inputs voice, and a voice output device suchas a speaker that outputs voice. The voice inputter/outputter 530 may bean interface. For example, an external microphone or speaker, or thelike may be connected to an interface. The voice inputter/outputter 530may also be a device such as short-range wireless communication (forexample, Bluetooth (registered trademark)) and a smart speaker.

The storage 550 is a functional section for storing various programs andvarious data required for the operation of the processing device 50. Thestorage 550 is composed of a storage device such as, for example, asolid-state drive (SSD), which is a semiconductor memory, a hard discdrive (HDD). In addition, the storage 550 secures a file storage area552 for storing a file.

The communicator 560 communicates with other devices. For example, thecommunicator 560 is connected to a local area network (LAN) to transmitand receive information related to comments with other devices, ortransmit and receive documents. In addition to the LAN, which is ageneral Ethernet (registered trademark), communication such as LTE/4G/5Gmay be used as a communication method.

1. 3 Flow of Process

The flow of a file selection process executed by the processing device50 will be described with reference to a flow diagram of FIG. 3. Thefile selection process is a process of selecting one file from filesstored in the file storage area 552 on the basis of input voice.Assuming that the files are stored in the file storage area 552 inadvance, the description will be made.

First, the controller 500 determines whether or not a command fordisplaying a list is received (Step S102). The command for displaying alist is, for example, voice indicating a request to display the filesstored in the file storage area 552 in a list on the display 510. Thecommand is, for example, voice such as “Display file”, “Open folder”,and “Open document”. The controller 500 determines whether or not thecommand for displaying a list is received on the basis of the content ofthe voice input via the voice inputter/outputter 530 and recognized bythe voice recognizer 502.

Specifically, the storage 550 stores in advance information (keyword)indicating, with characters, the content to be uttered by the user whenthe list of the files is displayed. Then, the controller 500 determinesthat the command for displaying a list is received in a case where thecharacter information indicating the content of the voice recognized bythe voice recognizer 502 matches the keyword.

In a case where the command for displaying a list is received, thecontroller 500 extracts the file to be displayed on the display 510 fromthe file storage area 552 (Yes in Step S102, Step S104). The controller500 may extract all the files stored in the file storage area 552, mayextract the file stored in a predetermined folder, or may extract thefile that satisfy a predetermined condition (for example, the file whosedate and time is today).

Subsequently, the controller 500 assigns an identification codecorresponding to the extracted file (Step S106). The identification codeis a number that can uniquely specify the file, for example, a serialnumber (number). The identification code may be an alphabet, forexample, as long as the file can be uniquely specified.

Subsequently, the controller 500 displays a list of each file and theidentification code on the display 510 (Step S108). Specifically, thecontroller 500 displays, on the display 510, first identificationdisplay for specifying the file and second identification display forindicating the identification code assigned to the file side by side foreach file. The controller 500 displays each first identification displayside by side on the display 510, and then displays the secondidentification display corresponding to each first identificationdisplay around the first identification display. Thus, the firstidentification display and the second identification display aredisplayed on the basis of a predetermined method, so that the user cangrasp the correspondence between each file and the identification codeassigned to the file by looking at the display 510.

The controller 500 displays, for example, a file name and the attributesof the file (for example, a type of the file, a creator of the file, acreation date of the file, and the like) as the first identificationdisplay. The controller 500 may display the attributes of the file by anicon, a picture, a symbol, or the like. In addition, the controller 500displays, for example, a rectangle including an identification code asthe second identification display in the vicinity of the correspondingfile.

Subsequently, the controller 500 determines whether or not a commandincluding an identification code is received (Step S110). The commandincluding an identification code is at least voice including a contentindicating an identification code, for example, voice such as “five” and“Number five”. The command including an identification code may includethe content indicating a process for the file. For example, the commandincluding an identification code may be voice such as “Open number five”and “Open fifth document” including the content of the process of “open”as the process for the file.

Specifically, in a case where the content of the voice recognized by thevoice recognizer 502 includes a way of calling a number indicating anyof the identification codes displayed as the second identificationdisplay, the controller 500 determines that the command including theidentification code is received.

In a case where the command including an identification code isreceived, the controller 500 selects a file corresponding to theidentification code included in the received command (Yes in Step S110,Step S112).

In a case where the command including an identification code is notreceived and the user designates to execute other process, thecontroller 500 executes the designated process (No in Step S110, StepS114; Yes).

In a case where the command including an identification code is notreceived and any process is not designated by the user, the controller100 again transitions the process to Step S110 (No in Step S114, StepS110).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the processing deviceassigns the identification code to the file and displays the assignedidentification code together with the information for specifying thefile. Therefore, the user can easily select the file simply by utteringvoice including the identification code assigned to the file. The filecan be selected simply by uttering the voice including theidentification code, and therefore the user can properly select the fileby the identification code without considering how to utter a file nameor a filename extension included in the file name.

2. Second Embodiment

A second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is anembodiment to which a system 1 is applied as a conference system. FIG. 4is a diagram illustrating a display device 60 capable of providing aconference system. The display device 60 includes a controller 600corresponding to the control device 10, a storage 650 corresponding tothe storage device 20, a display 610 corresponding to the display device30, and a voice inputter/outputter 630 corresponding to the voiceinput/output device 40. The display device 60 is, for example, a displaydevice such as an interactive whiteboard (IWB) installed in a conferenceroom. The display device 60 may be a terminal device used by a user.

The controller 600 is a functional section for controlling the whole ofthe display device 60. The controller 600 realizes various functions byreading and executing various programs stored in the storage 650, andis, for example, composed of one or a plurality of arithmetic devices(such as a CPU).

The controller 600 functions as a voice recognizer 602 and a conferenceprocessor 604 by executing a program. In a case where voice is input viathe voice inputter/outputter 630, the voice recognizer 602 recognizesthe input voice. The voice recognizer 602 may temporarily outputinformation (for example, character information) indicating the contentof the recognized voice to the storage 650.

The conference processor 604 executes a process (conference process)related to a conference in which a plurality of users can participate,in order to support the progress of the conference. The conferenceprocessor 604 executes, for example, a process of providing a chatfunction performed by a plurality of users who participate in aconference, as a conference process. In addition, the conferenceprocessor 604 performs a process of transmitting and receiving filesbetween devices (for example, respective terminal devices used by aplurality of users who participate a conference) connected to thedisplay device 60, as the conference process.

The display 610 displays the content of a file, various states of thedisplay device 60, the state of operation input, and the like. Forexample, the display 610 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystaldisplay, an organic electroluminescent (EL) panel, electronic paperusing electrophoresis, or the like.

The inputter 620 receives operation input from the user. For example,the inputter 520 is composed of a capacitance type touch panel or apressure sensitive type touch panel. The inputter 620 may be acombination of a touch panel and an operation pen, or may be an inputdevice such as a keyboard and a mouse, as long as the user can inputinformation.

The voice inputter/outputter 630 inputs and outputs voice. For example,the voice inputter/outputter 530 is composed of a voice input devicesuch as a microphone that inputs voice, and a voice output device suchas a speaker that outputs voice. The voice inputter/outputter 630 may bean interface. For example, an external microphone or speaker, or thelike may be connected to an interface. The voice inputter/outputter 630may also be a device such as short-range wireless communication (forexample, Bluetooth) and a smart speaker.

The storage 650 is a functional section for storing various programs andvarious data required for the operation of the display device 60. Thestorage 650 is composed of, for example, an SSD, which is asemiconductor memory, an HDD, or the like. In addition, the storage 650secures a file storage area 652 for storing a file.

The communicator 660 communicates with other devices. For example, thecommunicator 660 is connected to a LAN to transmit and receiveinformation related to a conference with another device, or transmit andreceive files. In addition to the LAN, which is a general Ethernet,communication such as LTE/4G/5G may be used as a communication method.

Next, a process executed by the display device 60 will be described withreference to FIG. 5. First, the controller 600 displays a menu screen onthe display 610 as an initial state (Step S202). The menu screendisplays, for example, information on one or a plurality of conferencesand files related to the conference. For example, the controller 600acquires conference information from a device that manages theconference information (such as a conference name, names of users whoparticipate in the conference, start time, end time, and a file name ofa file related to the conference) via the communicator 660, and displaysthe acquired conference information on the display 610. The file relatedto the conference is, for example, a file designated when the conferenceinformation is registered by a user, or a filed attached to a conferenceinvitation email transmitted in advance to the user who is a participantof the conference.

When the menu screen is displayed, the conference is not yet started andthe conference process is not yet executed. Therefore, the controller600 prevents the user from selecting the file related to the conferencedisplayed on the menu screen. Specifically, the controller 600 does notassign an identification code to the file, and does not display secondidentification display. In addition, even when voice (command) includingan identification code is input from the user, the controller 600 doesnot receive the input of the voice.

Subsequently, the controller 600 (conference processor 604) starts theconference by starting the conference process on the basis of theoperation of starting the conference by the user (Step S204). At thistime, for example, the controller 600 acquires the file related to thestarted conference and stores the acquired file in the file storage area652. Further, the controller 600 (conference processor 604) may receivethe file from a terminal device used by the user who participates in theconference, and store the received file in the file storage area 652, inthe conference process.

Subsequently, the controller 600 executes a file selection process (StepS206). The file selection process is the same process as the fileselection process described in the first embodiment. For example, thecontroller 600 recognizes the voice input via the voiceinputter/outputter 630 by the voice recognizer 602, and determineswhether or not a command of list display is received. In a case wherethe command of list display is received, the controller 600 assigns anidentification code to the file stored in the file storage area 652, andperforms first identification display and second identification display.Thus, the controller 600 displays a list of the first identificationdisplay and the second identification display on the display 610 whenthe conference process is executed. Further, when voice including anidentification code is input from the user who is a participant of theconference via the voice inputter/outputter 630, the controller 600selects a file corresponding to the input identification code. Thus, thecontroller 600 displays the first identification display and the secondidentification display on the display 610 only during the execution ofthe conference process in which the user can select the file. Inaddition, the controller 600 selects the file corresponding to theidentification code when the voice (command) including theidentification code is input from the user only during the execution ofthe conference process in which the user can select the file.

Subsequently, the controller 600 displays the file selected by the fileselection process on the display 610 (Step S208). For example, thecontroller 600 activates an application capable of displaying theselected file, and displays the file selected by the user by performinga display process via the application.

Next, an operation example of this embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is an example of a display screenW200 illustrating the menu screen. The display screen W200 is displayedon the display 610 or displayed on the terminal device used by the user.The display screen 200 includes an area E200 for displaying filesrelated to the conference. The area E200 includes, for example, displayM200 and display M202 as the first identification display. As thedisplay M200, a file name for specifying one file (for example,“ConferenceUI_v1.3.pptx”) and an icon indicating a file type that is theattribute of the one file are displayed. Similarly, as the display M202,a file name for specifying one file (for example,“check_mobileUI_v6.pptx”) and an icon indicating a file type that is theattribute of the one file are displayed. At this point, the conferenceis not yet started, so the file is not selected on the basis of theoperation by the user. In addition, the second identification display isnot displayed in the area E200. Therefore, the display device 60 doesnot receive the input of the voice (command) including an identificationcode.

FIG. 7A is an example of a display screen W210 displayed on the display610 and the terminal device used by the user after the conferenceprocess is started. The display screen 210 is a screen on which a filecan be selected on the basis of the input by the user. The displayscreen 210 includes an area E210 for displaying files related to theconference. In addition, the area E210 includes an area for displayingthe first identification display and an area for displaying the secondidentification display for each file, and the first identificationdisplay and the second identification display are displayed verticallyin a row. Therefore, the user can select the file from the firstidentification display displayed in the list. In addition, the displaydevice 60 receives input of voice (command) input including anidentification code.

In the display device 60, the file selection based on the operation bythe use may be performed, for example, after start of a process relatedto a function for recognizing the voice of the user and controlling thedisplay device 60 (voice recognition control), in addition to theconference process. For example, a voice switch icon B200 illustrated inFIG. 6 is a button that enables voice recognition control by beingselected by the user. The display device 60 may start a function relatedto voice recognition control on the basis of the selection of the voiceswitch icon B200 in FIG. 6, and add and display the secondidentification display as illustrated in the display screen W210illustrated in FIG. 7A.

As illustrated in FIG. 7A, for example, the area E210 includes displayM210 which is first identification display and display M212 which issecond identification display, and the second identification displayM212 is displayed to the left of the first identification display M210.Display M210 is the same as the display M200 in FIG. 6. In addition, arectangle including “1” which is an identification code is displayed asthe display M212. Such display indicates that the file with the filename “ConferenceUI_v1. 3. pptx” corresponds to the identification code“1”.

Similarly, the area E210 includes display M214 which is firstidentification display and display M216 which is second identificationdisplay, and the second identification display M216 is displayed to theleft of the first identification display M214. The display M214 is thesame as the display M202 in FIG. 6. In addition, a rectangle including“2” which is an identification code is displayed as the display M216.Such display indicates that the file with the file name“check_mobileUI_v6. pptx” corresponds to the identification code “2”.

The user can select the file corresponding to the identification code byinputting the voice including “1” or “2” which is the identificationcode which is displayed on the display screen W210.

A screen on which the file can be selected on the basis of the input bythe user may be other than the display screen W210 illustrated in FIG.7A, for example, a display screen W220 illustrated in FIG. 7B. Thedisplay screen W220 includes an area E220 in which the firstidentification display and the second identification display arearranged and displayed in a plurality of rows unlike the display screenW210 on which the first identification display and the secondidentification display are vertically arranged and displayed in one row.

In the area E220, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the first identificationdisplay and the second identification display are displayed for eachfile. For example, the area E220 includes display M220 which is firstidentification display and display M222 which is second identificationdisplay. As the display M220, a file name for specifying one file (forexample, “New notebook. one”) and an icon indicating a file type that isthe attribute of the one file are displayed. In addition, a rectangleincluding “1” which is an identification code is displayed as thedisplay M222. In this case, the file with the file name “New notebook.one” corresponds to the identification code “1”.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the display screen W220 displays“1” to “12” as identification codes. Therefore, the user can select thefile corresponding to the identification code by inputting the voiceincluding any number from “1” to “12” which are the identificationcodes.

In a case where the number of files displayed on the display 610 and theterminal devices used by the users exceeds a predetermined value (forexample, 12 in the case of FIG. 7B), the area including the firstidentification display and the second identification display may bescrollable. When the scroll operation by the user is performed, thedisplay device 60 reassigns the identification code from 1 to the fileto be displayed in the area including the first identification displayand the second identification display, and then updates the firstidentification display and the second identification display.Consequently, even in a case where the number of files is large, anumber equal to or less than the predetermined value is displayed as thesecond identification display. Therefore, even in a case where thenumber of files stored in the file storage area 652 is large, the usercan select a file by uttering any number up to the predetermined value.For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 7B, the user only needsto utter any number of 1 to 12.

In addition, the display device 60 may group files and assign oneidentification code to a plurality of files included in the same group.When the files are grouped, the display device 60 uses attributes suchas a date such as a creation date and an update date, a creator, a fileformat, and a frequency of use. Consequently, the user can input acommand including one identification code to display a plurality offiles corresponding to the input identification code on the displaydevice 60. Thus, in the display device 60, it is possible to improve theconvenience of the user by displaying a plurality of files by onecommand.

According to this embodiment, the user can select and display a file tobe displayed on the display by a simple operation of inputting thecommand including an identification code by voice.

3. Third Embodiment

A third embodiment is an embodiment in which command input is receivedfrom a device other than a voice device in addition to the processesdescribed in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

First, a case where this embodiment is applied to the conference systemdescribed in the second embodiment will be described. In this case, thecontroller 500 receives either a command by voice or a command operatedby the inputter 620 as a command for displaying a list, in Step S102 ofthe file selection process. The case where the command by the operationby the inputter 620 is received is, for example, a case where thecontroller 600 displays a button for displaying the list on the display610 and a user selects the button for displaying the list.

In a case where a voice command is input in Step S102, the controller600 determines whether or not the command including an identificationcode is input via the voice inputter/outputter 630, in Step S110. Inthis case, even when the command including an identification code viathe inputter 620, such as operation of touching the secondidentification display or operation of selecting a button having anumber corresponding to second identification display is input, thecontroller 600 ignores the command input via the inputter 620.

On the other hand, in a case where the command by the operation by theinputter 620 is input in the Step S102, the controller 600 determineswhether or not the command including an identification code is input viathe inputter 620. In this case, even when the command including anidentification code is input via the voice inputter/outputter 630, thecontroller 600 ignores the command input via the voiceinputter/outputter 630.

By such a process, the controller 600 receives the input of the commandincluding an identification code on the basis of a functional sectioninput as a command for displaying a list.

In a case where this embodiment is applied to the system 1 of the firstembodiment, an input device that receives input of operation from a userby a method other than voice is connected to the control device 10 inthe system 1. When the control device 10 receives the command fordisplaying a list from the input device, the control device 10 receivesthe command including an identification code from the input device anddoes not receive the command including an identification code from thevoice input/output device 40. On the other hand, when the control device10 receives the command for displaying a list from the voiceinput/output device 40, the control device 10 receives the commandincluding an identification code from the voice input/output device 40and does not receive the command including an identification code fromthe input device.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the user can unify theoperation of inputting the command for displaying a list and theoperation of inputting the command including an identification code intoonly the voice operation or only the input operation to the inputdevice, and continuously perform the operation. Moreover, it is possibleto prevent the file from being selected due to unintended operation.

4. Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment will be described. The fourth embodiment is anembodiment in which the system 1 is applied as a print system.

4. 1 Overall Configuration

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a print system 2 to whichthe system 1 is applied. The print system 2 includes, for example, animage forming apparatus 70, a voice processing device 80, a dialoguedevice 85, and a voice input/output device 90. In addition, the imageforming apparatus 70 and the dialogue device 85 are connected eachother, the voice processing device 80 and the dialogue device 85 areconnected each other, and the voice processing device 80 and the voiceinput/output device 90 are connected each other. The image formingapparatus 70 and the voice input/output device 90 may be installed at aplace where a user is located, and the voice processing device 80 andthe dialogue device 85 may be installed on the Internet (on the cloud).

The devices constituting the print system 2 may be respectiveindependent devices, may be configured in one device, or may be acombination of a plurality of devices.

In the print system 2, the control device 10, the storage device 20, andthe display device 30 of the system 1 are composed of the image formingapparatus 70. The voice input/output device 40 of the system 1 iscomposed of the voice processing device 80, the dialogue device 85, andthe voice input/output device 90.

Specifically, in the print system 2 illustrated in FIG. 8, the voiceinput/output device 90 inputs voice uttered by a user, and transmits avoice stream to the voice processing device 80. The voice processingdevice 80 recognizes the input voice stream and transmits the recognizedinput voice stream as an input sentence to the dialogue device 85. Thedialogue device 85 is a device that provides conversation service andgenerates a response sentence to the input sentence. The dialogue device85 transmits/receives information to/from the image forming apparatus70, acquires a state of the image forming apparatus 70, and generates,for example, a response sentence indicating the state of the imageforming apparatus 70 to the input sentence, and transmits the generatedresponse sentence to the voice processing device 80. The voiceprocessing device 80 that receives the response sentence generates avoice stream for outputting the response sentence as voice, andtransmits the generated voice stream to the voice input/output device90. The voice input/output device 90 that receives the voice streamoutputs voice on the basis of the received voice stream.

4. 2 Functional Configuration

In the following, a case where the print system 2 illustrated in FIG. 8is configured by the image forming apparatus 70 will be described. Inthis case, the image forming apparatus 70 includes functional sectionscorresponding to the voice processing device 80, the dialogue device 85,and the voice input/output device 90, which are illustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the image forming apparatus 70 capableof providing the print system 2. The image forming apparatus 70 includesa controller 700 corresponding to the control device 10, a storage 770corresponding to the storage device 20, a display 750 corresponding tothe display device 30, and a voice inputter/outputter 760 correspondingto the voice input/output device 40.

The controller 700 is a functional section for controlling the whole ofthe image forming apparatus 70. The controller 700 realizes variousfunctions by reading and executing various programs stored in thestorage 770, and is composed of one or a plurality of arithmetic devices(for example, a CPU).

The controller 700 functions as a voice recognizer 702 and an dialogueprocessor 704 by executing a program. In a case where voice is input viathe voice inputter/outputter 760, the voice recognizer 702 recognizesthe input voice. The voice recognizer 702 may temporarily outputinformation indicating the content of the recognized voice (for example,character information) to the storage 770.

The dialogue processor 704 realizes conversation service. The dialogueprocessor 704 outputs a response sentence corresponding to the inputvoice via the voice inputter/outputter 760.

An image inputter 710 is a functional section for acquiring image datato be input to the image forming apparatus 70. Also, the image inputter710 may acquire the image data from a storage medium such as a universalserial bus (USB) memory or an SD card. Moreover, the image inputter 710may acquire the image data from another terminal device via acommunicator 790 which connects the image inputter to the other terminaldevice. In addition, the image inputter 710 stores the acquired imagedata as a file in a file storage area 772.

A document reader 715 is a functional section that reads an image andgenerates image data. For example, the document reader 715 is composedof a scanner device that generates digital data by converting an imageinto an electric signal by an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge CoupledDevice) or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor), and quantizing and encoding theelectric signal. Further, the document reader 715 stores the generatedimage data as a file in the file storage area 772.

The image processor 720 is a functional section which performs variousimage processes to the image data. For example, the image processor 720performs a sharpening process of image data, or performs a colorconversion process.

The image former 730 is a functional section that forms an image basedon a file on a recording medium (for example, recording paper). Theimage former 730 includes, for example, an electrophotographic laserprinter.

The inputter 740 is a functional section for receiving an operationinstruction by a user, and is composed of a hardware key (for example, anumeric keypad), a button, and the like. The display 750 is a functionalsection for displaying various information to a user, and is composedof, for example, a display such as an LCD and an organic EL display. Theimage forming apparatus 70 may include a touch panel in which theinputter 740 and the display 750 are integrally formed. A method ofdetecting input may be a common detection method such as a resistivefilm type, an infrared type, an electromagnetic induction type, and acapacitive type.

A user authenticator 755 performs user authentication. For example,authentication is performed on the basis of whether or not a user nameand a password input from the inputter 740 match a user name and apassword stored in user information 776. In addition, the userauthenticator 755 may acquire bio-information and an image of a user,and perform biometric authentication (for example, fingerprintauthentication, palm print authentication, face authentication, voiceauthentication, iris authentication, or the like).

The voice inputter/outputter 760 performs voice input and voice output.For example, the voice inputter/outputter 530 is composed of a voiceinput device such as a microphone that inputs voice, and a voice outputdevice such as a speaker that outputs voice.

The storage 770 is a functional section that stores various programs andvarious data necessary for the operation of the image forming apparatus70. The storage 770 is composed of a storage device such as an SSD,which is a semiconductor memory, or an HDD. In addition, the storage 770secures the file storage area 772 for storing a file, and stores a printfile list 774, the user information 776, standby screen information 778,and job execution screen information 780.

The print file list 774 is a list that stores information (for example,a file name) that specifies a file of an image formed in the imageformer 730 among the files stored in the file storage area 772. Theprint file list 774 may store a print order, priority, print setting, aname of a user who performs print operation, and the like, in additionto the information for specifying a file.

The user information 776 stores information about a user. For example,the user information 776 stores information about user authentication(for example, a user name, a password, bio-information about a user).

The standby screen information 778 stores information necessary todisplay a standby screen waiting for command input on the display 750(for example, a character string and an icon to be displayed on thedisplay 750, and information of positions where the character string andthe icon are disposed, and the like). In addition, the job executionscreen information 780 stores information necessary to display a jobexecution screen to be displayed on the display 750 when a job executedby the image forming apparatus 70 is executed.

The communicator 790 communicates with other devices. For example, thecommunicator 790 is connected to a LAN to transmit and receive a file.In addition to the LAN, which is a general Ethernet, communication suchas LTE/4G/5G may be used as a communication method.

4. 3 Flow of Process

Next, a process in which the image forming apparatus 70 reads andexecutes a program stored in the storage 770 will be described withreference to FIG. 10. A process illustrated in FIG. 10 is executed bythe controller 700 after a user is authenticated by the userauthenticator 755.

First, the controller 700 reads the standby screen information 778 as aninitial state and displays the standby screen on the display 750 (StepS502).

Subsequently, the controller 700 determines whether or not a screenswitching command is received, on the basis of the content of the voiceinput via the voice inputter/outputter 760 and recognized by the voicerecognizer 702 (Step S504). The screen switching command is a commandindicating that the input of the operation of the image formingapparatus 70 is switched to a screen to be performed by voice. Thescreen switching command is, for example, a command by voice including aspecific word (wake word) such as “Operate by voice”.

In a case where the voice switching command is received, the controller700 switches the standby screen displayed on the display 750 to a voiceoperation screen and displays the voice operation screen (Yes in StepS504, Step S506). The voice operation screen is a screen that includesthe content of a command capable of being input by voice.

The controller 700 determines whether or not a file acquisition commandis received, on the basis of the content of the voice input via thevoice inputter/outputter 760 and recognized by the voice recognizer 702(Step S508). The file acquisition command is a voice command forinstructing to acquire the file stored in the file storage area 772, andis, for example, a voice command such as “Display jobs” or “Release myjobs”.

In a case where the file acquisition command is received, the controller700 acquires the file stored in the file storage area 772 (Yes in StepS508, Step S510). At this time, the controller 700 may acquire only thefile which an authenticated user can print.

Subsequently, the controller 700 displays a list of thumbnail images ofthe acquired file on the display 750 (Step S512). Further, thecontroller 700 assigns an identification code to the acquired file,superimposes the image including the identification code on thethumbnail image of the file corresponding to the identification code,and displays the superimposed images (Step S514). Thus, the controller700 displays the thumbnail image of the file and the image including theidentification code when the file acquisition command is received.Therefore, in this embodiment, the file acquisition command correspondsto the command for displaying a list.

The image including the identification code is, for example, arectangular image in which a predetermined color is used as a backgroundcolor and an identification code is superimposed on the background. Thesize of the image including an identification code is at least one-thirdof a short side of the thumbnail image. In addition, the image includingthe identification code may be a non-transparent image, or may be asemi-transparent image in which the identification code is transmittedsuch an extent that the identification code can be identified by theuser. The controller 700 superimposes the image including theidentification code on any corner of the thumbnail image and displaysthe superimposed images.

Subsequently, the controller 700 determines whether or not a printcommand is received (Step S516). The print command is a commandindicating that printing is performed by forming an image based on afile by the image former 730. The print command is, for example, acommand by voice including at least an identification code such as“Five” or “Print number five”. The controller 700 determines whether ornot a print command is received, on the basis of the content of thevoice input via the voice inputter/outputter 760 and recognized by thevoice recognizer 702.

In a case where the print command is received, a print process isexecuted by forming an image of a file corresponding to theidentification code included in the print command by the image former730 (Yes in Step S516, Step S518). In a case where printing cannot beperformed immediately after the print command is received, thecontroller 700 may store information for specifying the filecorresponding to the identification code in the print file list 774.Further, when the print process is executed, the controller 700 may readthe job execution screen information 780 and display a screen related toa print job to be executed on the display 750.

In a case where a command other than the print command is received inStep S516, it is determined whether or not the received command receivesa command indicating that a process other than printing is to beperformed (No in Step S516, Step S520). In a case where the commandindicating that other process is to be performed is received, thecontroller 700 executes the other process on the basis of the receivedcommand (Step S520; Yes). In a case where the command indicating thatother process is to be performed is not received, the controller 700transitions the process to Step S516 again (No in Step S520, Step S516).

4. 4 Operation Example

Subsequently, an operation example of this embodiment will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 11A, 11B, and FIGS. 12A to 12F. FIG. 11A is anexample of a display screen W500 of the voice operation screen. Thedisplay screen W500 includes an area E500 where the content of voiceuttered by a user (for example, “Release my job”) is displayed in orderto input the file acquisition command. The user confirms the contentdisplayed in the area E500 and the like, and inputs a command by voice.The display screen W500 may include an area E502 where the number offiles that can be printed by the authenticated user is displayed.

FIG. 11B is an example of a display screen W510, which is a screen inwhich a thumbnail image is displayed, and in which an image including anidentification code is displayed so as to be superimposed on thethumbnail image. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11B, on the displayscreen W510, an image M512 including an identification code is displayedin the left corner of a thumbnail image M510. In addition to thethumbnail image and the identification code, a file name M514 may bedisplayed in the vicinity of the thumbnail image.

FIGS. 12A to 12F are diagrams illustrating a display example of theimage including the identification code. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 12A, in a case where the thumbnail image is vertically long, theimage including the identification code is displayed such that thelength of the long side of the image including the identification codeis one-third or more of the length of the horizontal side which is theshort side of the thumbnail image. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 12B,in a case where the thumbnail image is horizontally long, the imageincluding the identification code is displayed such that the length ofthe short side of the image including the identification code isone-third or more of the length of the vertical side which is the shortside of the thumbnail image. Thus, the image including theidentification code becomes an image having the size of one-third ormore of at least the short side of the thumbnail image, and theidentification code can be easily confirmed by the user.

In a case where the thumbnail image is vertically long, the length ofthe long side of the image including the identification code may bepreferably at least half of the short side of the thumbnail image in theimage including the identification code, as illustrated in FIG. 12C.

The image including an identification code may be displayed in anycorner of the thumbnail image. For example, the image including theidentification code may be displayed in the lower left as illustrated inFIG. 12D, or may be displayed in the upper right or lower right.Furthermore, the image including the identification code may bedisplayed in the center of the thumbnail as illustrated in FIG. 12E.Even in this case, the image including the identification code is animage that is one-third or more of the short side of the thumbnailimage.

In addition, the image including the identification code may be on thebasis of the long side even in a case where the thumbnail image isvertically long. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12F, the imageincluding the identification code may be displayed such that the lengthof the short side of the image including the identification code isone-fourth or more of the length of the long side of the thumbnailimage.

Thus, various display methods can be considered for the image includingthe identification code, but the display method may be set in advance ormay be set by a user.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the image formingapparatus can display the list of the thumbnail images of the storedfile together with the identification codes to be uttered by the user,when the file acquisition command is received from the user. Inaddition, the image forming apparatus can execute printing on the basisof the print command in a case where the voice including anidentification code is uttered as a print command by the user.Consequently, the user can make the image forming apparatus print adesired file simply by uttering voice including an identification code.

5. Fifth Embodiment

Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. In the fifth embodiment, inaddition to the process described in the fourth embodiment, a process inwhich the image forming apparatus sequentially selects one thumbnailimage from thumbnail images displayed in a list, and an identificationcode corresponding to the selected thumbnail image is output by voicefrom the voice inputter/outputter is executed. In this embodiment, FIG.10 of the fourth embodiment is replaced with FIG. 13. The samefunctional sections and processes are given the same reference numerals,and description are omitted.

A process in which an image forming apparatus 70 reads out and executesa program stored in a storage 770 will be described with reference toFIG. 13. In this embodiment, a controller 700 executes processes of StepS512 and Step S514 to display a thumbnail image and an identificationcode on a display 750, and thereafter uses a variable n with 1 as aninitial value to sequentially select a thumbnail image from an n-ththumbnail image. Then, the controller 700 outputs voice including anidentification code assigned to a file corresponding to the selectedn-th thumbnail image via the voice inputter/outputter 760 (Step S602).In addition to the identification code, the voice including anidentification code may include information such as a file name, thetype of the file, and the creation date and time.

When one thumbnail image is selected, the controller 700 may make adisplay method for the selected one thumbnail image and an imageincluding an identification image superimposed and displayed on theselected thumbnail image different from other thumbnail images andimages including identification images superimposed and displayed on theother thumbnail images. Thus, the controller 700 links theidentification code output by voice with the thumbnail imagecorresponding to the identification code and the image including theidentification image.

For example, when one thumbnail image is selected, the controller 700displays the thumbnail image as follows, in order to display (highlight)the selected thumbnail image by a method different from the displaymethod for other thumbnail images.

(1) Enlarge the selected thumbnail image(2) Display a frame around the selected thumbnail image(3) Blink the selected thumbnail image(4) Invert the color of the selected thumbnail image(5) Superimpose a predetermined color (for example, red) on the selectedthumbnail image in a semi-transparent state(6) Increase the transmittance of thumbnail images other than theselected thumbnail image to make the thumbnail images less noticeablethan the selected thumbnail image.

The controller 700 may display the image as follows in order tohighlight the image including the identification code corresponding tothe selected thumbnail image instead of the selected thumbnail image.

(1) Enlarge the image including the identification code(2) Display a frame around the image including the identification code(3) Change the background color of the image including theidentification code(4) Blink and display the image including the identification codeThus, the controller 700 highlights only the image including theidentification code, so that the thumbnail image is not enlarged andother thumbnail images are not hidden, and visibility can be ensured.

The controller 700 may combine two or more display methods of theaforementioned display methods. For example, the selected thumbnailimage and the identification code corresponding to the selectedthumbnail image may be enlarged and displayed. In addition, thecontroller 700 may highlight and display a thumbnail image or an imageincluding an identification code by a display method other than theaforementioned display method.

Further, when the n-th voice output in the Step S602 is completed, thecontroller 700 returns the display of the highlighted n-th thumbnailimage and the highlighted image including the identification code to anoriginal (before highlighting) display mode.

Subsequently, the controller 700 determines whether or not the voiceoutput of the identification code for all the files is completed (StepS604). In a case where the voice output of the identification code forall files is not completed, 1 is added to n and the process returns toStep S602 (Step S604; No, Step S606, Step S602). Thus, the controller700 can output the identification code by voice for all the files.

The controller 700 does not determine whether or not a print command isreceived after the voice output of the identification code for all thefiles is completed, but may determine whether or not the print commandis received during output of the voice identification code. In thiscase, when the controller 700 receives the print command, the output ofthe identification code by voice is completed, and the controller 700executes the print process of the file corresponding to theidentification code included in the print command. Thus, the user caninput the print command immediately after confirming the identificationcode corresponding to the file desired to be printed.

An operation example in this embodiment will be described with referenceto FIGS. 14A and 14B. FIG. 14A is an example of the display screen W600when a first thumbnail image is selected and the thumbnail image isenlarged and displayed. An area E600 of the display screen W600 includesthe enlarged first thumbnail image, an image including an identificationcode, and a file name. At this time, the voice including theidentification code (for example, voice such as “Number one, Ocean.jpg”)is output via the voice inputter/outputter 760. The file name is outputby voice according to predetermined reading.

FIG. 14B is an example of a display screen W610 when a second thumbnailimage is selected and the thumbnail image is enlarged and displayed. Anarea E610 of the display screen W610 includes the enlarged secondthumbnail image, an image including an identification code, and a filename. At this time, the voice including the identification code (forexample, the voice such as “Number two, Flower.png”) is output via thevoice inputter/outputter 760.

In the same manner, third to sixth thumbnail images are sequentiallyselected, enlarged and displayed, and voice including eachidentification code is output via the voice inputter/outputter 760.

According to this embodiment, the user can appropriately select a filedesired for printing by checking voice output from the voiceinputter/outputter and a screen displayed on the display.

6. Modification

The present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments,and various modifications can be made. That is, the technical scope ofthe present invention also includes embodiments obtained by combiningtechnical means appropriately modified without departing from the gistof the present invention.

In addition, although the aforementioned embodiments are describedseparately for convenience of explanation, it is needless to say thatthe embodiments may be combined and executed within the technicallypossible range. For example, the second embodiment and the fifthembodiment may be combined. In this case, the display device 60 in thesecond embodiment displays a list of files and identification codes, andthen outputs sound including the identification code via the voiceinputter/outputter 530.

In addition, a program that operates in each device in the embodiment isa program that controls the CPU and the like (a program that functionsthe computer) so as to realize the functions of the aforementionedembodiment. Then, the information handled by these devices istemporarily stored in a temporary storage device (for example, RAM) atthe time of processing, and then stored in various storage devices suchas a ROM (Read Only Memory) and an HDD, and read, modified and writtenby the CPU as needed.

Herein, the recording medium for storing the program may be any of asemiconductor medium (such as a ROM and a non-volatile memory card), anoptical recording medium/magneto-optical recording medium (for example,DVD (digital versatile disc), an MO (magneto optical), an MD (minidisc), a CD (compact disc), a BD (Blu-ray Disc), etc.), a magneticrecording medium (such as a magnetic tape and a flexible disc), and thelike. In addition, not only the functions of the aforementionedembodiments are realized by executing the loaded program, but also thefunctions of the present invention are sometimes realized by processingin collaboration with an operating system or other application programson the basis of the instruction of the program.

In addition, when distributing to the market, the program can be storedin a portable recording medium and distributed, or transferred to aserver computer connected via a network such as an internet. In thiscase, it goes without saying that the storage device of the servercomputer is also included in the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a control device; a storagedevice that, stores a file; a display device; and a voice device,wherein the control device displays a list of first identificationdisplay for specifying the file on the display device when voice of acommand for displaying a list, is input from a user via the voicedevice, the control device assigns an identification code to the filedisplayed in the list, and displays the identification code as secondidentification display, and the control device selects the filecorresponding to the identification code when voice including theidentification code is input from the user via the voice device.
 2. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein when the control device displaysthe list of the first identification display on the display device, thecontrol device receives input of the voice including the identificationcode from the user only in a case where the user is able to select thefile from the first identification display displayed in the list.
 3. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the control device is able toexecute a predetermined process, the control device is able to display alist of the first identification display and the second identificationdisplay on the display device, when the predetermined process isexecuted, and the control device selects the file corresponding to theidentification code, when the voice including the identification code isinput from the user via the voice device while the predetermined processis being executed.
 4. The system according to claim 3, wherein thepredetermined process is a conference process in which a plurality ofusers are able to participate.
 5. The system according to claim 1,wherein in a case where voice is input from the user via the voicedevice and a list is displayed, the control device receives input of theidentification code from the voice device, and in a case where input ismade from the user via a device other than the voice device and a listis displayed, the control device receives input from the device otherthan the voice device.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein thefirst identification display is an icon indicating a file name and anattribute of the file.
 7. The system according to claim 1 wherein thecontrol device groups the files to be displayed in the list, and assignsone identification code to a plurality of the files included in the samegroup.
 8. An image forming system comprising; a control device; astorage device that stores a file; and a display device; and a voicedevice, wherein the control device displays a list of a thumbnail imageof the file on the display device, the control device superimposes animage including an identification code on the thumbnail image displayedin the list, and displays the superimposed images, and in a case wherethe identification code is input by voice from a user via the voicedevice, the control device forms an image on the basis of the filecorresponding to the identification code.
 9. The image forming systemaccording to claim 8, wherein the image including the identificationcode is an image whose size is one-third or more of at least a shortside of the thumbnail image.
 10. The image forming system according toclaim 8, wherein the image including the identification code is an imagein which the identification code is included in a rectangular image. 11.The image forming system according to claim 8, wherein the imageincluding the identification code is an image superimposed and displayedon any corner of the thumbnail image.
 12. The image forming systemaccording to claim 8, wherein the control device sequentially selectsone thumbnail image from the thumbnail images displayed in the list, andoutputs the identification code corresponding to the selected thumbnailimage by voice from the voice device.
 13. The image forming systemaccording to claim 12, wherein when the identification codecorresponding to the selected thumbnail image is output by voice fromthe voice device, the control device highlights the thumbnail imagetogether with the identification code.
 14. The image forming systemaccording to claim 13, wherein the highlighting is display by at leastany one of methods of: enlarging and displaying the thumbnail image;displaying a frame around the thumbnail image; reversing and displayingcolor of the thumbnail image; and blinking and displaying the thumbnailimage.
 15. The image forming system according to 12, wherein when theidentification code corresponding to the selected thumbnail image isoutput by voice from the voice device, the control device enlarges anddisplays the image including the identification code together with theidentification code.